Human Resources

When Performance is an Issue: Steps to Take

By Ellen Corradini

Today museum professionals face more numerous challenges than they have ever faced before—how best to reach, attract and communicate with varied audiences; dwindling revenue sources; ever-increasing pressure to raise funds; and the need to …
Let’s Talk Money: How much do you make?

By Elizabeth Merritt

You’d probably feel massively uncomfortable if someone asked you that question at a dinner party. After all, money is one of the things (along with politics, sex and religion) that are simply not discussed in polite company. But that …
Po-tay-to Po-taa-to: On Unpaid Internships

By Elizabeth Merritt

Finally, ok, I’m weighing in. I hesitated for a long time because it wasn’t clear what I could add to an already robust conversation. But this topic is a logical extension of the series of posts in which I’m trying to untangle the …
What’s a Good CEO Worth?

By Elizabeth Merritt

This is part three in an ongoing series of essays sharing my thoughts on museum economics, training and compensation. Catch up with parts one (The Museum Sacrifice Measure) and two (What is the Fair Market Value of a Museum Job). I had …
What is the Fair Market Value of a Museum Job?

By Elizabeth Merritt

Last week’s post on the Museum Sacrifice Measure generated a lot of discussion on Twitter, Facebook and in the Blog comment section. I recommend you go back and read that post before you read this one: I’m using today’s post to summarize …
The Museum Sacrifice Measure

By Elizabeth Merritt

How much are you willing to give up to work in a museum? How much didyou give up to work in a museum? I’m not talking about quality of life issues like relocating to a new city, having to explain over and over again, at parties, what a …
Monday Musing: Yet Another Pass at Virtual v. Analog Art Experiences

By Elizabeth Merritt

This Monday’s 15 minute musing. Last week Amit Sood, director of the Google Cultural Institute, announcedthat 15 new museums were launching exhibits on the Google Art Project. That project is gaining serious momentum—the article …
Monday Musings: Museum as Creative Hotspot

By Elizabeth Merritt

Last Friday I read a thought-provoking post from Jasper Visser about the use of alternative workspaces. “Why not work a couple of days each week from a bar, incubator or creative hotspot?” Jasper asked. “I’m sure you will …
Throwback Thursday: Revisiting the future workforce

By Elizabeth Merritt

This week’s Dispatches from the Future of Museums features a story about a report from the Labor Department that shows the rate of volunteerism in the U.S,. is the lowest it has been in a decade. The biggest declines are among those …
Interpreting the Future of Art Museums

By Elizabeth Merritt

I’ve blogged about the emergence of new kinds of positions in museums over the last decade. This week, four leaders in interpretive planning from the Nelson-Atkins, Denver, and High art museums as well as the Detroit Institute of Arts …